Issues of low activation brazing of SiCf/SiC composites by using alloys without free silicon

The paper presents a novel low activation brazing technique for SiCf/SiC composites. The brazing alloy does not contain free silicon and is based on the use of a Si–44Cr at.% eutectic and the intermetallic CrSi2 (melting temperatures 1390 and 1490 °C, respectively). These are advantageous because the melting point is low enough to avoid degradation of the advanced fibres and of the interphases in the composite, and the Si–Cr intermetallics are chemically compatible with silicon carbide. Both the eutectic and the intermetallic were prepared before brazing operations by melting a Si–Cr mixture. The joining was performed under vacuum (about 10−4 Pa). Systematic investigations of the microstructure and of the nanochemistry (TEM, EELS, ELNES) of the Si–Cr joints reveal that direct chemical Si–Si, Cr–C and Si–Cr bonds across the interface are responsible for the adhesion: the interfaces were proved to be nearly atomically sharp and adhesive. Altogether, this brazing procedure enables joints with sufficient strength and with a microstructure comparable with that of the starting powders to be obtained.